Academic Gets Award for Contribution to Cyber Security

Dr Brett van Niekerk, an academic in the School of Mathematics, Statistics and Computer Science (SMSCS), received an award for his work in cyber security from the South African chapter of the Information Systems Audit and Control Association (ISACA).

ISACA is an international not-for-profit professional organisation with a focus on IT Audit; IT governance, risk and compliance; information security and cyber security.

The organisation, which has more than 140 000 members across 180 countries, provides guidance and manages some of the sought-after professional certifications including Certified Information Security Manager, Certified Information Systems Auditor as well as Cyber Security Practitioner.

The South African chapter, the largest in Africa with over 2 200 members, instituted the awards to recognise their members for their professionalism and service. The awards include:

Winston Hayden Leadership Award

Max Belcher Innovation Award

Tichaona Zororo Excellence Award

Contribution Award

Young Professional Award

Van Niekerk received the 2018 Contribution Award for his work on cyber security including his research and involvement with the development of international standards; his service as a member of local and international professional bodies; being co-editor-in-chief of the International Journal of Cyber Warfare and Terrorism, and achievements from his time working in the industry. He is also CISM-certified, achieving the third highest mark in South Africa in the December 2014 exam.

‘It is an honour to receive this award. It validates the research and work I’ve been doing over the years and confirms there is a positive influence on the relevant professional community,’ he said.

Van Niekerk was an Honorary Research Fellow with UKZN from July 2014 to when he joined Computer Science in a permanent capacity in December 2017. He currently lectures the Honours network security module as well as modules from first- and second-year.